Federation
The Federation (more properly known by it's full title, the United Federation of Planets) is a political union comprising of (by 2292 ) over 150 Member worlds with near 800 colonies. Built on a foundation of mutual respect, trust, cultural and political understanding, the Federation is seen by many of it's citizens as a Utopia, although it's opponents (and several outspoken critics within the Federation) point to a darker side behind the ethos of "One big happy Federation". History Officially founded in 2161 the Federation was formed out of the wartime Confederation of Planets formed during the Earth-Romulan War. The founding members of the Federation comprised of United Earth, the Confederation of Vulcan, the Andorian Star Empire, the Tellarite Confederation, the Orion State and the Independent Republic of Alpha Centauri. These members brought with them a number of colonies, and even at it's founding, the Federation was the largest and most powerful political entity then known. This new power lead to enormous expansion efforts. No longer facing the Romulan threat or other credible adversaries, the new Federation could focus on more peaceful, productive activities. Civilian colonization, made possible by the huge surplus of matter/antimatter-powered vessels after the war, stimulated the expansion of the Federation's borders. Likewise, missions of exploration expanded known space ever further from the Homeworld Core. This rapid expansion lead to the nascent Starfleet adopting a "Jeune Ecole" strategy (named for a 19th Century military naval theory on Earth). The Battleships previously employed by the United Earth Star Navy toward the end of the Earth-Romulan War were the right ships at the right time, being critical to bringing that conflict to a successful conclusion. However, they were too expensive, too slow and too few to police the frontiers of the new Federation. Several Wartime Heavy Cruiser designs were maintained for the purposes of patrolling the Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone, but the large Battleships were retired, and a new expansive construction programme commenced. Early exploration and policing efforts were pioneered by the Daedalus Class, actually a wartime UESN Light Cruiser design. These efforts were marred by the loss of many of these ships for unknown reasons. Whether the belief of the time, that of unsafe M/AM reactors, is true remains controversial. While many early Daedalus Class ships were lost or presumed lost, the fault may not lie entirely with their reactors. Ships may have been destroyed through hostile action, celestial phenomena, poor judgement (human error), or simple bad luck. In most cases of ship loss, the cause could not be determined because no messages were received by radio or torpedo and no physical evidence was recovered at the accident scene. On the other hand, that the USS Horizon (NCC-176), USS Essex (NCC-173), USS Shenandoah (NCC-186), and USS Archon (NCC-189), were all lost (or presumed lost) in a six month period in 2167 after approximately 7 years of service suggested their reactors failed catastrophically, particularly given the recorded loss of the USS Lincoln (NCC-182) to reactor failure in 2165. These early setbacks did little to dampen the spirits of those eager to explore the stars, and by 2200 the Federation had ballooned to more than ten times it's founding numbers, covering twice as much territory. The period from 2190 to 2218 is often considered to be the "Imperial" age of the Federation. This period ended after disastrous first contact with the Klingon Empire in the "Triton Incident". In the undeclared conflicts that followed, Starfleet proved quite able at dispatching marauding Klingon warships, and whilst all out war was adverted, rivalry between the two powers settled down into a bitter Cold War. Subsequent Klingon incursions into Federation space in 2244 and 2246 once again showed that Starfleet had the upper hand but that the tactical gap was closing. At the Battle of Bernard in 2248, several Klingon D6A Kl'ar (Leader) Class with supporting Frigates attacked the Federation colony of Dixon's World. They were beaten back by the obsolete Kestrel Class Destroyers USS Vulture (NCC-1413), USS Shrike (NCC-1434) and USS Peregrine (NCC-1436), but the victory was a narrow one, and lead to the signing of the Treaty of Korvat between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets the following year. The treaty temporarily eased tensions between the two powers, but both sides correctly reasoned that it was only delaying the inevitable, and by the 2260s mutual sabre-rattling had lead to stand-offs between Federation and Klingon starships along the border. At the same time, the Romulan Star Empire returned to the galactic stage in dramatic fashion, destroying Federation outposts along the Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone. These tensions lead to the outbreak in 2267 of the 4-Day War between the Federation and the allied forces of the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. This brief conflict was ended inconclusively with the involvement of the Organians, resulting in the Organian Peace Treaty. This stipulated a new Neutral Zone between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, and that worlds inside this zone would have to be competed for diplomatically rather than through military force. The Organian Peace Treaty kept the peace for almost 20 years. In the interim, the Federation suffered a number of incursions and diplomatic incidents. In 2271, the Sol System was invaded by the V'Ger Entity, a being of enormous power. It was eventually stopped by the actions of Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). In 2282 the scientists behind the long vaunted Genesis Project began the search for a barren planet to experiment on. Unfortunately they discovered that the planet they believed was Ceti Alpha VI was in fact the formerly lush and pleasant world of Ceti Alpha V, ruined by the core collapse and explosion of Ceti Alpha VI in 2267. Khan Noonien Singh, former Earth Dictator, took control of the visiting USS Reliant (NCC-1864) in 2283 and lured Admiral Kirk and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) into a trap. Ultimate Khan was eventually defeated, but the prototype Genesis Device was detonated, turning part of the Mutara Nebula into the Genesis Planet. Admiral Kirk returned to the new planet against orders in order to fulfil a Vulcan religious ceremony, and inadvertently interrupted a Klingon attempt to steal the secrets of the Genesis Project. The theft was thwarted, but Kirk's Son, David Marcus, was killed and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) scuttled to prevent her capture by Commander Kruge. In 2284, the officers of the former starship returned to Earth after six months of asylum on Vulcan to face court martial for their actions, but before they could do so, the Sol System fell victim to the harmful broadcasts of the Whale Probe (see "Whale Probe Crisis"). Engaging in an illegal temporal incursion to the late 20th Century, Admiral Kirk once again saved Earth, and was acquitted of all crimes except for insubordination, and was broken to Captain and given command of the newly commissioned USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A). Shortly before her shakedown cruise, the Enterprise was called to advert a crisis on the "Planet of Galactic Peace", Nimbus III. Sybok, half-brother to Spock, took control of the starship and used it to search for the legendary planet of creation. The crisis was adverted, and the Enterprise entered full service in mid 2285. Scant months later, a border dispute between the Federation and the Klingon Empire erupted into a quadrant wide war on several fronts after the disappearance of the Organians. The opposing forces soon split into two superblocs, the Alliance (comprised of the Gorn Confederacy, the Hydran Kingdoms and lead by the Federation) and the Coalition (comprised of the Romulan Star Empire, the Lyran Star Kingdom and lead by the Klingon Empire). This conflict quickly broke down into a bitter war of attrition, and prior to any decisive assaults being undertaken, the Organian Conflict was brought to an abrupt end by the return of the Organians. They brought with them the forces of the Interstellar Concordium, intended to bring peace to the quadrants. Unfortunately, the Concordium's skewed idea of peace lead to even greater bloodshed, and it wasn't until 2291 that their occupation forces were repelled and forced back into the fringes of the galaxy. In 2292, the outbreak of the General War once again saw war come to the Federation. The Klingon Empire, lead by the Warlord Melkor, launched a devastating surprise attack against the Federation Reserve Fleet in the Pearl System. The war was short, but bloody, coinciding with a Starfleet offensive against the Interstellar Concordium. The Federation was arguably saved from destruction by her ally, the Gorn Confederacy, while the Federation Prime Fleet ended both the renewed threat of the Interstellar Concordium and a Neo-Tholian conspiracy. Ultimately, peace was brought to the galaxy when, in 2293, the Klingon Empire and the Federation signed the Khitomer Accords. Although almost derailed by the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon (see "Praxis Incident"), the treaty brought lasting peace between the two powers and ended the unremitting Cold War that had seethed between the two for nearly 80 years. The Romulan Star Empire, humiliated by her role in the Praxis Incident being exposed, once again withdrew from galactic affairs. Politics The Federation is a constitutional representative republic, in which constituent members delegate some of their sovereignty, who participate in a legislature known as the Federation Council, elect a chief executive known as the Federation President, and which are ostensibly balanced by a judiciary headed by a Federation Supreme Court. The exact division of powers between the Federation government and the governments of its member worlds is a highly complex affair. Individual member worlds of the Federation still maintain Embassies with one another, perhaps the most famous Ambassador being Sarek, Vulcan Ambassador to Earth. Critcism Whilst the Federation has brought prosperity to many, not all enjoy living within the confines of it's laws and regulations. Many settlements founded on the very outer fringe in the early 23rd Century were all but independent, being only De Jure Federation colonies. As Federation Law was brought to these colonies in the 2260s and beyond, a growing political movement began dedicated to smaller government and more local control. The existence of such movements played straight into the hands of the Federation's rivals, with the Klingon Empire especially portraying the Federation as a culturally erosive "Homo-Sapiens Only Club". Given the dominating role that human personnel have in Starfleet and the Federation as a whole, it is not an entirely unfair statement. High Ranking Member Worlds and Important Star Systems Earth (Sol System) Vulcan (40 Eridani System) Andoria (Epsilon Indi System) Tellar (Tellar System) Orion (Rigel Centaurus System) Eden (Alpha Centauri System) Efros System Pearl System Bernard System Somme System Khitomer System Babel System Ceti Alpha System Beta Hydri System See Also Klingon Empire Romulan Star Empire Gorn Confederacy Category:Great Powers Category:Interstellar Governments